MADISON — By the end of the night March 12, every boys basketball team in the state had played their final game. Twenty teams had won their final game — the sectional semifinal. Monticello was unfortunately not one of those 20.

The Ponies (23-2) lost 76-54 to Randolph (23-3) in a WIAA Division 5 sectional semifinal at Madison Edgewood High School in front of a quaint but boisterous crowd. 

“I just don’t even know what to say. I’m speechless right now,” Monticello senior Reece Rufer said after the game, holding back tears. “I can’t believe it’s over; four years of playing flew right by.”

About seven hours before tip-off, in response to the COVID-19 outbreak, the WIAA put drastic changes to the boys and girls basketball tournaments, limiting playoff games to under 200 spectators in hopes of shrinking the chance of letting the disease spread. Then, with less that two hours before the boys sectional games were played, the WIAA announced that the Kohl Center would be unavailable to host the boys state tournament, scheduled for the following week. Two hours after all the boys basketball games had concluded, it wouldn’t matter that the Kohl Center was off limits — the WIAA canceled all remaining boys and girls tournament games, meaning Thursday’s playoff contests were the final ones of the year — and for the seniors, the final games of their prep careers.

Monticello and Randolph spent much of the season next to each other in the Wisconsin Basketball Coaches Association and Associated Press state polls. The Ponies were given the top seed of their sectional headed into the boys tournament, with Randolph second. 

If the Rockets felt like they had something to prove for getting the lower seed, they proved it. Randolph was all but unstoppable. The Rockets shot 59.3% from the field in the game, including a blistering 32-of-51 (32.7%) from inside the paint. 

Randolph dominated the glass when it mattered the most, finishing the first half with 20 rebounds — including six offensive rebounds that all went for points. All of that came on a half shooting 18-of-32 (56.2%), meaning, of Randolph’s 14 misses, just eight fell into the hands of a Pony.

“Early they were ready to play, and it just seemed like we weren’t,” Monticello junior Peter Gustafson said. “We got out to a big deficit, and that was tough to come back from.”

Leading the way for Randolph was sophomore post player Travis Alvin. Seemingly raw with the ball, Alvin surpassed his season-average of 13.4 points per game with three minutes left in the first half. 

Despite having all-state stars Peter Gustafson (first-team) and Reece Rufer (honorable mention) to grab rebounds, Monticello was unable to slow down Alvin. In the bucket with three to go before halftime, Alvin grabbed three offensive rebounds in a row, then made an awkward-looking left-handed flip around three defenders to give his team a 32-20 lead. Alvin had 19 points in the first half and finished the game with a mesmerizing double-double of 30 points and 12 rebounds — six of which came off the offensive glass in the first half. 

“He had a heck of a game tonight. He was a load down there. He was good on the boards, and I give him a lot of credit on that,” said Monticello’s Mark Olson, the Six Rivers East coach of the year.

Randolph led 38-25 at halftime.

“We battled for a good while in that first half, and then we got a little out of rotation defensively and we didn’t get great help where we needed to get help. They did a good job taking advantage of it,” Olson said. “They’ve got two really nice guards who are smart when they have the ball. The adjustments we made just didn’t make enough difference.”

Monticello shot 46% from the field in the first half, but resorted to firing up quick 3-pointers because the post was blocked by Alvin, Peyton Moldenhauer and Sam Grieger. 

“They just came out and they battled. They came out right from the get-go, and we had a little bit of a slow start,” Rufer said.

In the second half, Randolph kept its efficient offense rolling, scoring on 14 of its first 23 possessions in the second half. Monticello’s deficit reached 20 just three minutes out of the locker room, and the Rockets put the game into cruise control the rest of the way. Moldenhauer finished with 17 points and Grieger 11 for Randolph.

Rufer finished with 21 points to lead the Ponies. Gustafson had 17 points, while Simon Blohowiak and Owen Ace each had six points. Blohowiak added six rebounds and four assists, while Gustafson had seven boards and three assists. Rufer grabbed five rebounds and had two steals.

“It’s always a tough locker room,” Olson said of dealing with a postseason loss. “The biggest thing to tell them is how much I enjoyed coming to practice every day with them. Not only are they a good team, they are great kids; they are great teammates. That’s what makes this fun, is being in these kinds of moments. I’m just proud of them for all the challenges we did face this year and just stayed strong and played great throughout it. I just let them know how proud I am of them.”

The sentiment was not just coach-speak. Ponies players rallied around each other all season; as well as in years past.

“We just love playing basketball and just love playing with each other,” Gustafson said. “It starts with leadership from our seniors. We can’t thank them enough for how great of leaders they were this year.”

Rufer, who shared the Six Rivers East player of the year award with Gustafson, finished his career No. 6 in Monticello scoring history. In his first year in the program as a freshman, his team won just four games. The next season it was nine, then 13. This season, the Ponies lost just one game in the regular season, and then won the conference title and reached the sectional round of the playoffs for the first time in a decade.

“The camaraderie of the school and this team; what we bring everyday to practice” will be missed, Rufer said. “Just the way we came and we grew. We had so many swing balls at us, but we just kept fighting. It never was enough. I’m just sad to see the season go.”

Olson said losing his three seniors will be a big blow for the program. Blohowiak proved his mettle throughout the season, and Devin Holtz was a key roll player in the starting lineup. Blohowiak was second-team all-conference this year, and Holtz was honorable mention.

“It’s going to be tough to not have them. We’ve had great leadership from them — they’ve worked hard, they’ve been a tight-knit group and we’re going to miss them for sure,” Olson said.